Top arm spectacles



Aug. 29, 1944. J J R0HRBACH V 2,357,267

TOP ARM SPECTACLES Fiie d Sept. 20, 1941 2 SheetsSheet 1 v ATTDRNEY Aug. 29, 1944. J. J. ROHRBACH 2,357,267

TOP m SPECTACLES Filed Sept. 20, 1941 2 SheetsSheet 2 Patented Aug. 29, 1944 TOP ABM SPECTACLES John J. ohrbacb, Rochester, N. Y., assignor to Shuron Optical Company, Inc., Geneva, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application September 20, 1941, Serlal No. 411,707

13 Claims.

My invention ls concemed with improvements in top arm spectacles and is directed morespeciflca]ly tu reinforced'Zlonite top arm spectacles.

One 01 the objects of my invention is to produce a top arm for spectacles having a wire core with the lens straps, endpiece, and pad arm soldered to the core to form a strong structural unit and having a. zylonite casing entirely covering the core.

Another object of my invention is to provide zylonite top arm spectacles having a metal reinforcing core made up of a plurality 01; parts, the parts being securely fastened together to produce in efiect an integial core.

Still another obiect of my invention is to provide an endpiece for zylonite spectacles constructed so as to position the pivot on which the temple is swung behind and outside of the spectacle frame and curving the temple inwardly around the pivot to concea1 the same and so that the end of th temple abuts against the mounting to limit the outward swing of the temple, whereby the car to car distance may be adjusted by simply filing off the abutting end of the temple.

Another object of my invention is to provide wire reiniorced'top arms having zylonite casings and a zylonite bridge to which the top arms may be connected by iusing th zylonite casing to the zylonite bridge.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification in donjunction with the drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a front view of a pair 01 spectacles embodying the principles of my invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view, parts being broken away, of the spectacles shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the core wire and metal parts associated therewith for a reiniorced zylonlte top arm.

Figure 4 is a cross-section of the reiniorced zylonite top arm taken on the line 4-4 01 Figure l.

Figure 5 is an exploded front view, part being broken away. shoWing the preierred structure for a pair of reinforced zylonite top arm Spectacles.

Figure 6 is 2. section. parts being broken away,

' taken on the line 66 01 Figure Figure 7 is a front view of a pair 01 spectacles embodying the principles of my invention but showing a. diflerent treatment of the bridge.

Figure 8 is a front view of a pair 01 spectacles embodying the principles 0: my invention where- 1 the front side of the core 2l adjacent one end thereof. It is understood that the strap 23 may have a pair of ears.disposed on opposite sides of in the bridge member contains no reinforcing wire and the top arms are fused to the bridge.

Figure 9 is an exploded perspective, parts being broken away, showing details of the connection between the top arms and the bridge member of the spectacles shown in Figure 8.

Referring now to the drawings, the spectacles of my invention are built up 'from wire metal cores to which various parts are attached, the ocres being covered with a zylonite casing to form a zylonite spectacle. front. The top arms are similar in construction, and therefore it WII be necessary to describe only one.

The top arm 26 is provided with a reinforcing wire or core 2 1. In the preferred form, the crosssection of the core 2l 15 as illustratea in Figure 4, and is well adapted to disperse the light rays and to minimize the. visibility of the core when viewed through a transparent zylonite casing 22.

It is, of course, understood that the zylonite casings may be translucent or opaque, in which case the shape of the reinforcing wire is not important since it would not be visible.

In constructing the top arms, the core 2! is first out to the desired length from a piece of wire. A lens supporting lug or strap 23 having a threaded eye 24 and a shank 25 is soldered to the lens, or, as shown, be provided with the single threaded eye 24 for accommodating lens fastening means to be described later. An endpiece 26 is provided which has a rearw'ardly extending portion or shank 21 and an outwardly curved portion 26 which terminates in a pair of vertically spaced ears 29. Verticaily aligned apertures 30 and 31 are provided in the ears 29. The aper. ture 30 in the endpiece 26 is threaded to receive a screw 32. The other aligned aperture 3l is made large enough so that the screw 32 may pass freely through it, and in th preferred form the aperture 3l may be countersunk to admit the head of the screw.82. The end of the shank 21 of the endpiece 26 is butt soldered to the rear side of the core 2! substantially opposite the strap 23. Another lens strap 36 is soldered to the front side of the core 2l a short distance from the opposite end thereof. A pad arm 36 is soldered to the rear side 01. the core 2l substantially' opposite'the strap 35. After the straps'23 and 36, endpiece 26 and pad.arm 36 have been soldered to the core 2l, the entire core 2| is completely covered with a zylonite casing 22 while leaving the lens straps, endpiece and pad arm A edge of the lens 31 to be supported. V

The bridge comprises a core 4! and a zylonite casing 42. In making the bridge, a piece of wire is out to the desired length for the core 45. The

core 41 is then covered with the zylonite casing 42. 42 is removed adjacent the ends of the bridg 40 to expose the core 4l for a short distance and to provide a fiat surface, best seen in Figure 5, for a purpose presently to be described. A similar fiat portion 46 is provided on the bridge end portion of the top arm 20. The fiattened portions 43 and 45 are then brought together and the zylonicasings 22 and 42 are fused by heat or sc lvent or both to join the top arm to the bridge. Th core 2| of the top arm and the core Il of the bridge are thus brought into contact and give the appearance of being joined. A second top arm, similarly constructed, is similarly joined to the other side of the bridge. Nose pads 41 are loosely mounted on the pad arms 35 in any suitable manner.

The temples 50 are similar in construction and it will therefore be necessary to describe but one. The temple comprises a core wire 5l having a. pivot lug 52 projecting laterally inward from the core wire 5l adjacent the forward end thereoi. The pivot mg 52 may be separate and soldered to the core wire 51 or may be formed integrally therewith. Th lug 52 is provided With an aper' tur 53 to accommodate the screw 32 which is inserted thrcugh the apertre3l in one of the ears 29 of the endpiece 25. The screw 32 is screwed into the threaded aperture 30 in the other ear 29 of the endpiece 26. The forward portion 55 of the core wir 5l 15 curved inwardly as shown in Fig.-

ure 6. Acasing 55 of zylonite is molded around the core wire 5l to conipletely cover the core wire 51 but leaving the pivot lug 52 exposed. It is to be noted that when the completetemple 50 is assembled to the endpiece 25 and the temple swung outward, the end 51 of the temple is.

adapted to abut against the rearwardly' projecting portion 21 of the endpiece 25 and thus limit the outward swing of the temple 50. To adjust the distance between the ear loops of the temples it is only necessary to file the end 51 of the temple 50. By removing material from the end 51 of the temple so, the ear to ear distance may be increased thus providing a simple means for adjusting the frame to various head sizes. This system of adjustmcnt obviates the necessity l'or bending or distorting the temples, which is an ordinary practice. With my construction the temples may be maintained straight and true thereby maintaining a pleasing appeamn,

The lenses 31 are secured to the spectacle trame by drilling appropriate holes to receive the screws 50 and thus fasten the lenses to the lens straps or lugs 23 and 35. As the straps 23 and 35 are fastened to the front aide 0! the core wire 2l, the lenses 31 are thus positioned in front'of the top arms 25 and serve in some measure t0 decrease the promincn 01 the top arms. It is to be noted that in the preterred form the top arms 20 project slightly above the lenses 31 and thus protect the lenses 31 11. the spectacles be dmpped so as to fall with the top arms downward.

The top arms 21| are reinforced in order that the top arms may be Sufliciently strong and rigld to take shock and stress without transndtting strain to the supported lenses. Thus it is de- A portion 43 of the outer side of the casing r be flexible to relieve stress on the top arms. In the preerred form of my invention the bridge reinforcing core 41 may be lighter than the ocres 2! of the top arms. Furthe1mcre, in the preferred form, the ocres 2! and AI are not joined together in order that the zylcnite joint between the top arm and the bridge have greater freedom of flexure to relieve stress in the top arms when the spectacles are subjected to undue st1ain due to mishandling, However, as an alternate construction the ocres 2l and 41 may be soldered together to form a. continuous core before covering the ocres with the zyionite casings 22 and 42.

In Figure 7 I have shown a modified form of spectacle frame wherein the top arms 10 are similar in shape and construction to the top arms described above, excerit that no metal pad arms are used, and wherein the bridge 1l is shaped diierently'from the bridge as shown in the modification previously described. After the top arms 10 have been assembled and covered with zylonite,

aportion of the zylonite covering as at 12 is milled off to expose the core wire. The bridge 1l has the end portions milled oi to conform to portions 12 and the bridge 1| is fastened to the top arms 10 by fusing the zylonite casings together. The nose pads 13 are formed of zylonite and may be integral with the side arms 14, which in this case areextended portions of the top arms '10, or the nose pads 13-may be molded separately and iused to the side arms 14..

InFigure 8 I have shown: a top arm spectacle front embodying the principles of my invention but wheren the bridge 15 is formed of zylonite with no reinforcing core. The top arms and temples are similar in construction to the device as shown in Figures 1 to 6, inclusive, and described above, except that no metal pad arms are used in this modification. In the preferred mbodiment of the front or mounting illustrated in Figure 8, the top arms 15 are each constructed as complete units. The bridge 15 is molded of zylonite and comprises crest 11, side arms 18 and nose pads 19. Extending downwardly from adjacent the top of each of the side arms 18 is a. groove au formed in the outer side thereoi. The grooves au are adapted to partially receive the bridge end portions 8! of the top arms 15. T0 assemble the frame, the portion 8l of the top arms 15 is placed in the groove 80 of the bridge 15 and fused either by heat or solvent or both, so that the zylonite covering 01 the top arm 15 becomes integrally joined with the zylonite bridge 15. It is, of course, understood that the particular shape of bridge illustrated in Figures 7 and 8 is not essentiel, and any suitable form of bridge may be used. Furthermore, with my unique scheme of construction,- zylonite of one col0r can be used for the top arms, while a different color of zylonite can be used for the bridge.

Although I have shown and described particular embodiments of my invention, various changes in form. dimensions and arrangement of the parts will occur to those skilled in the art but will not depart from the spirit of my invention. 1 therefore wish to be limited only by the scope 01' the appended claims.

1. A semirflnless ophthalmic mounting comprising a bridge composed at least exteri0rly of plastic material, a pair 01 top arms aflixed to said bridge toextend outwardly along the top rims of a pair 01 lenses. each of said top arms consisting of a metal core wire and a mains 01 plastic sirable that the bridge connecting the top arms material, a plurality o: metal iens straps fastened secured one to each of said endpieces.

pivot point, and said temples, endpieces and top.

arms being so constructed and arranged that the metal endpieces are substantially wholly concealed from side or front view by the plastic ma- .terial of the temples and top arms when said mounting is in wearing position.

2. A semi-rimless ophthalmic mountin as claimed in claim 1 in which said top arms are afllxed to said bridge solely by union of the plastic material of said top arms to the plastic material of said bridge;

3. A semirimless ophthalmic mounting as claimea in claim 1 in which said bridge comprises a metal reinforcement and said top arms are afilxed to said bridge solely by union of the plaistic material oi! said top arms to the plastic material of said bridge.

4. A. semi-rimiess ophthalmic mounting as claimed in claim 1 in which said bridge has plastic side arms provided with grooves' in which the plastic casings of the bridge ends of said top arms are received;

5. A semi-rimless ophthalmic munting compivotafly secured one to each of said endpiecs, the. forward end oieach ofsaid temples curving forwardly and inwardly around the pivot point,

and said temples, endpeces and top arms being so constructed and arranged that the metal endpieces are substantially whollyconcealed from side or front view by the plastic material of the temples and top arms when said mountingy'is in wearing position.

8. A semi-rimless ophthalmic mounting as.

. claimed in claim 7 in which said top arms are afiixed to said bridge solely by union of the plastic material of said top arms to the plastic material of said bridge.

9. A semi-rimless ophthalmic mounting as 'claimed in claim 7 in which saidbridge comprises a metal reinforcement and said. top arms are afllxed to said bridge solely,by union of the plastic mateal of said top arms to the plastic maprising a bridge composed of ainetal reinforcement encased in plastic material, a pair of top arms aflixed to said bridge to extend outwardly along the top rims of a pair of lenses, each of said top arms consisting of a metal core wire and a casing of plastic material, said top arms being afixed to said bridge solely by union of the plastic A material of said top arms. to the plastic material oi? said bridge, a pair of metal lens straps fastened to each of said top arm wires and projecting beyond said plastic casing. a metal endpiece fastened to each of said top arnrwires adjacent the temple end thereof and projecting-bey0nd said plastic casing, and a pair of temples pivotally 6. A semi-rirnless ophthalmic mounting as claimed in claim 5 in which said lens straps conprise lugs located one adjacent the bridge end and another adjacent the temple end of each of said top arm wires and constructed to bear on the irig located one adjacent the bridge end and another adjacent the temple end of each of said top arm wires and bing constructed to bear on the rear surfaces only' of the lenses and to position the lenses in front oi their respective top arms, a metalendpiece fastened to each of said ton arm wires adjacent the temple end thereo f and direct ly behina a correspcnding lens supporting lug, sa d endpieces pr0j0ting rearwardly and outwardly beyond said plastic casing,-and -a pair.of

temples made at least in part or plastic material terial of said bridge.

10. A semi-rimless ophthalmic mounting as claimed in claim 7 in which said bridge bas plastic side arms provided with grooves in which the plastic casings'of the bridge ends of said top arms are received.

' 11. A semirimless ophthalmi mounting comprising-a bridge composed at least exteriorly cf plastic material, a pair of top arms afilXed to said bridge to extend outwardly along the top rims of a pair of lenses, each of said top arms consisting of a metal core wire and a casing of plastic material, said top arms being afllxed to said bridge solely by union of the plastic material of the one to the. plastic material of the other, a pair of metal lens supporting lugs fastened to each of said top arm wires and projecting. beyond said plastic casing, said lugs being located one adjacent the bridge end and another adjacent the temple end of each of 'saidtop arm wires and being constructed to bear on the rear surfaces only of the lenses and to position the lenses in front of their respective top arms, a metal endpiece fastened to each of said top arm wires ad- Jacent the temple end thereo and directly be' hind a corresponding lens supporting lug, said endpieces proiecting rearwardly and outwardly beyond said plastic casing, and a, pair of temples pivotally secured one to each oi! said endpieces, each of said temples comprising a metal core wire, a metal pivot lug fastened thereto adjacent the i.orward and thereof and extending laterally on the inward side of the respective temple and a "ples, endpieces and top arms being so constructed and arranged that the metal endpieces are substantially wholly concealed from side or front view by the plastic material ci the temples and top arms when said mounting is in wearing*positien.

12. A semi-rimless ophthalmic mounting as climed in claim 11 in which said bridgeomprises a metal core wire encased in plastic ma-,

terial.

13.- A semfirimless ophtbalmic mountins as claimed in claim 11 in which said bridge has plasticside arms provided with grooves in which the 'plastc casings or the bridge-ends ci said top arms are received. 4 A JOHN J. ROIdRBACH; 

